September 13

2 Chronicles 23

1In the seventh year, Jehoiada made himself strong, and made an agreement with the captains of hundreds, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, Azariah, the son of Obed, Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri.

2And they went through Judah, getting together the Levites and the heads of families in Israel from all the towns of Judah, and they came to Jerusalem.

3And all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Truly, the king’s son will be king, as the Lord has said about the sons of David.

4This is what you are to do: let a third of you, of the priests and Levites, who come in on the Sabbath, keep the doors;

5And a third are to be stationed at the king’s house; and a third at the doorway of the horses: while all the people are waiting in the open spaces round the house of the Lord.

6But let no one come into the house of the Lord but only the priests and those of the Levites who have work to do there; they may go in for they are holy; but the rest of the people are to keep the orders of the Lord.

7And the Levites are to make a circle round the king, every man being armed; and any man who comes into the house is to be put to death; you are to keep with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.

8So the Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada the priest had given them orders: every one took with him his men, those who were to come in and those who were to go out on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada had not sent away the divisions.

9Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and body-covers which had been King David’s and which were kept in the house of God.

10And he put all the people in position, every man with his instruments of war in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left, by the altar and the house and all round the king.

11Then they made the king’s son come out, and they put the crown on his head and gave him the arm-bands and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons put the holy oil on him and said, Long life to the king.

12Now Athaliah, hearing the noise of the people running and praising the king, came to the people in the house of the Lord:

13And looking, she saw the king in his place by the pillar at the doorway, and the captains and the horns by his side; and all the people of the land were giving signs of joy and sounding the horns; and the makers of melody were playing on instruments of music, taking the chief part in the song of praise. Then Athaliah, violently parting her robes, said, Broken faith, broken faith!

14Then Jehoiada the priest gave orders to the captains of hundreds who had authority over the army, saying, Take her outside the lines, and let anyone who goes after her be put to death with the sword. For the priest said, Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.

15So they put their hands on her, and she went to the king’s house by the doorway of the king’s horses; and there she was put to death.

16And Jehoiada made an agreement between the Lord and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.

17Then all the people went to the house of Baal and had it pulled down, and its altars and images broken up; and Mattan, the priest of Baal, they put to death before the altars.

18And Jehoiada put the work and the care of the house of the Lord into the hands of the priests and the Levites, who had been grouped in divisions by David to make burned offerings to the Lord, as it is recorded in the law of Moses, with joy and song as David had said.

19And he put door-keepers at the doors of the Lord’s house, to see that no one who was unclean in any way might come in.

20Then he took the captains of hundreds and the chiefs and the rulers of the people and all the people of the land, and they came down with the king from the house of the Lord through the higher doorway into the king’s house, and put the king on the seat of the kingdom.

21So all the people of the land were glad and the town was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death with the sword.

Psalms 80

To the chief music-maker; put to Shoshannim-eduth. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1 Give ear, O Keeper of Israel, guiding Joseph like a flock; you who have your seat on the winged ones, let your glory be seen.

2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, let your strength be awake from sleep, and come as our salvation.

3Take us back again, O God; let us see the shining of your face, and let us be safe.

4O Lord God of armies, how long will your wrath be burning against the rest of your people?

5You have given them the bread of weeping for food; for their drink you have given them sorrow in great measure.

6You make us a cause of war among our neighbours; our haters are laughing at us among themselves.

7Take us back again, O God of armies; let us see the shining of your face, and let us be safe.

8You took a vine out of Egypt: driving out the nations, and planting it in their land.

9You made ready a place for it, so that it might take deep root, and it sent out its branches over all the land.

10The mountains were covered with its shade, and the great trees with its branches.

11It sent out its arms to the Sea, and its branches to the River.

12Why are its walls broken down by your hands, so that all who go by may take its fruit?

13It is uprooted by the pigs from the woods, the beasts of the field get their food from it.

14Come back, O God of armies: from heaven let your eyes be turned to this vine, and give your mind to it,

15Even to the tree which was planted by your right hand, and to the branch which you made strong for yourself.

16It is burned with fire; it is cut down: they are made waste by the wrath of your face.

17Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.

18So will we not be turned back from you; keep us in life, and we will give praise to your name.

19Take us back, O Lord God of armies; let us see the shining of your face, and let us be safe.

John 15

1I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.

2He takes away every branch in me which has no fruit, and every branch which has fruit he makes clean, so that it may have more fruit.

3You are clean, even now, through the teaching which I have given you.

4Be in me at all times as I am in you. As the branch is not able to give fruit of itself, if it is not still on the vine, so you are not able to do so if you are not in me.

5I am the vine, you are the branches: he who is in me at all times as I am in him, gives much fruit, because without me you are able to do nothing.

6If a man does not keep himself in me, he becomes dead and is cut off like a dry branch; such branches are taken up and put in the fire and burned.

7If you are in me at all times, and my words are in you, then anything for which you make a request will be done for you.

8Here is my Father’s glory, in that you give much fruit and so are my true disciples.

9Even as the Father has given me his love, so I have given my love to you: be ever in my love.

10If you keep my laws, you will be ever in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s laws, and am ever in his love.

11I have said these things to you so that I may have joy in you and so that your joy may be complete.

12This is the law I give you: Have love one for another, even as I have love for you.

13Greater love has no man than this, that a man gives up his life for his friends.

14You are my friends, if you do what I give you orders to do.

15No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing: I give you the name of friends, because I have given you knowledge of all the things which my Father has said to me.

16You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruit which will be for ever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you.

17So this is my law for you: Have love one for another.

18If you are hated by the world, keep in mind that I was hated by the world before you.

19If you were of the world, you would be loved by the world: but because you are not of the world, but I have taken you out of the world, you are hated by the world.

20Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours.

21They will do all this to you because of my name–because they have no knowledge of him who sent me.

22If I had not come and been their teacher they would have had no sin: but now they have no reason to give for their sin.

23He who has hate for me has hate for my Father.

24If I had not done among them the works which no other man ever did, they would have had no sin: but now they have seen, and they have had hate in their hearts for me and my Father.

25This comes about so that the writing in their law may be made true, Their hate for me was without cause.

26When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father even the Spirit of true knowledge who comes from the Father–he will give witness about me;

27And you, in addition, will give witness because you have been with me from the first.

John 16:1-4

1I have said these things to you so that you may not be in doubt.

2They will put you out of the Synagogues: yes, the time is coming when whoever puts you to death will have the belief that he is doing God’s pleasure.

3They will do these things to you because they have not had knowledge of the Father or of me.

4I have said these things to you so that when the time comes, what I have said may come to your mind. I did not say them to you at the first, because then I was still with you.